For the first time in 45 years, Craig Field Airport is a controlled airport, and officials hope that means growth is on the horizon.
Advanced ATC and their partner, the Indra Corporation, placed a temporary mobile control tower at the former Air Force base in Selma. But that’s just the beginning. A Virtual Control Tower will be up and running soon, and the first students are enrolled in an academy that will train air traffic controllers on a revolutionary new air traffic control system for smaller airports.
The Virtual Control Tower is a system where up to 40 airports can be controlled from a single location using video and computers to give controllers a real-time view of the airport they are controlling. The virtual control center being set up at Craig Field is the first in the United States.
Local leaders, state officials and executives from Advanced ATC and Indra Corporation gathered at Craig Field Jan. 20 for a ribbon cutting for the mobile air traffic control tower. The mobile tower is the first step of what will be a $5 million project that will make Craig Field home to the nation’s first remote air traffic control center and of an academy to train from 25 to 50 air traffic controllers to operate the new technology.
“Now that we have controlled airspace here, I’m very confident that we will see a very large increase of air traffic coming in and out of here buying fuel and seeing the wonderful airport facility we have here,” Advanced ATC Chief Operating Officer Dan Cunningham said at the groundbreaking.
Craig Field Airport and Industrial Park Executive Director Jim Corrigan said the airport is much safer because no aircraft will land without talking to the tower first. Businesses and industries are attracted to cities with controlled airports because of the increased safety and efficiency, he said.
“The most important thing is that (the tower) gives us controlled airspace,” Corrigan said. “This (temporary mobile) tower is operational. There is a controller up there. We own the airspace up to five miles out and 2,500 feet up.”
“We needed a controlled airspace,” Corrigan said. “This is just the beginning. Now we will go work with the FAA to certify the remote tower operation.”
The new tower looks modest compared to the original glass-topped tower that dominated the skyline at Craig Field Airport, but the new mobile tower has modern and much better technology than the old tower could ever offer, according to Corrigan.
Corrigan said it took a while to bring the mobile tower to Selma. They had to find the tower, then they had to work with the FAA to get controlled airspace and to get the necessary radio frequencies. He thanked the Alabama Department of Commerce for helping Craig Airport obtain ownership of the five buildings needed. “We just completed a $2 million renovation of the air traffic control center and the air traffic control academy,” Corrigan said.
Selma Dallas County Economic Development Authority Executive Director Wayne Vardaman said, “God had his hand on this project from Day 1. We have had one obstacle after another, and this project has been in the ditch numerous times. And every time He has brought it out.” The project has been in the works since 2017, he said.
Selma Mayor James Perkins Jr. and Dallas County Probate Judge and Commission Chairman Jimmy Nunn said that the ribbon cutting came at a good time for the community.
“Quite frankly, the people of Selma need some good news,” Perkins said. “I was just leaving a meeting with FEMA, state, federal and Dallas County EMA, and I told them I needed to come here because this is a good news moment, and our community can use some good news right now.”
Nunn agreed. “It’s a great day when we can come together and all of us can be a part of something great in light of what just happened in Selma and Dallas County,” Nunn said. “It’s perfect timing to give a glimpse of hope that businesses are still coming in and maybe employees can have hope they will have employment.”
Nunn explained that he was not just talking about the recent tornado, but also the recent announcement that Ziegler Meats is closing and that the Sears Home Store is going out of business.
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